“Hello World” service station & grocery store

The Hello World Service Station and Grocery Store was located on Lawrenceville Highway near Montreal Road in the community known as Pea Ridge. According to documents in the DeKalb History Center archives, Pea Ridge refers to an area of Tucker between Lawrenceville Highway and North Druid Hills Road, Burnt Creek and north to the railroad. Several farms were in the area, including the 250-acre R. F. Sams Truck Farm and the Honea dairy farm on Montreal Road.

This photo of Hello World store on Lawrenceville Highway is in the book “Vanishing DeKalb” and is part of the DeKalb History Center archives.

According to the history in the archives, Ebb Chewning ran the store and filling station for three decades. Ebb and Allie Chewning’s home was across the highway. Records in the 1930 U.S. Census show Ebb is 58 and is working in a filling station, presumably Hello World. The name Hello World came from the cheerful greeting of a popular radio show in the 1920s. A YouTube search for the radio show revealed a show called “Hello World Dog Gone,” with W. K. Old Man Henderson. He began the show by saying “Hello World.”

The store became a landmark and Pea Ridge was a destination. “You could catch a Greyhound bus in Decatur or Atlanta with a ticket that stated Pea Ridge as your destination, and you’d end up at Hello World.” Texaco Oil Company took over the property in 1961 and tore down Hello World.

The Rehoboth Presbyterian Church, formerly located at 2729 Lawrenceville Highway, was also a part of the Pea Ridge Community. Another place that was a big part of Pea Ridge was Haralson’s Gulf Station which doubled as city hall. It was run by Nathan Haralson who was considered the Mayor of Pea Ridge. City Hall was in the gas station. The Rehoboth Pharmacy was across the street. In 1982, the Gulf pulled out of Pea Ridge and the station closed.

Haralson born May 15, 1928 in Pea Ridge in a house on Lawrenceville Highway. During WWII, he served as part of the U.S. Navy.

Have you heard stories of Hello World and Pea Ridge? Write to me at pasttensega@gmail.com to share the history.